The hottest day of the year
explodes on-screen in this vibrant look at a day in the life of
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast that includes
Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Robin
Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Nunn, Rosie Perez, and John Turturro, Spike
Lee’s powerful portrait of urban racial tensions sparked controversy while
earning popular and critical praise.

***

It's the hottest day of the
summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can... Do the Right
Thing. Directed by visionary filmmaker Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing
is one of the most thought-provoking and groundbreaking films of the last 20
years. The controversial story centers around one scorching inner-city day, when
racial tensions reach the boiling point in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood.
Featuring over four hours of bonus features, a digitally remastered picture and
new 5.1 surround sound audio, Do the Right Thing 20th Anniversary Edition
captures an unforgettable piece of American history.

ADDITION: Universal Studios - Region FREE Blu-ray
- June 09': It appears as though Criterion's 2-disc DVD from 2001 is
certainly bested by this new Blu-ray
package from Universal.

Starting with the image - the Criterion has
a decidedly orange/yellow hue to it
that dulls the overall color balance and alters skin
tones - but this is probably intended. We have been informed,
that it is intentional
(thanks Nick!) - the warm color filtering representing
the hottest day of the year. Detail greatly benefits from the move to
hi-def and there is even a marginal amount of additional
information available in the frame. Contrast is superior
and you can even see some healthy grain in the new Blu-ray
transfer. Depth is also more apparent in the
less-expensive Universal 1080P edition despite that the
Criterion SD-DVD had their transfer approved by
cinematographer Ernest Dickerson. Aside from Universal
removing the filter, it seems as though all
visual facets are improved in the Blu-ray
- perhaps even more than I was anticipating. The
consistently textured Universal release looks quite
impressive especially with the livelier colors and
improved sharpness.

NOTE: Despite another site stating this was
VC-1 - I can assure my Blu-ray
was encoded with MPEG-4 AVC.

Criterion's PCM track was a more unique feature 8 years ago but
the Universal DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 3890 kbps is pretty sweet.
There is a lot of perfectly cued music utilized in Lee's film beyond Public
Enemy's frequently played "Fight the Power" and it all sounds that much
crisper in HD. This includes Bill Lee's original score for his son's film. The
track hints at an explosive quality with police sirens, boom-boxes and spiraling
violence keeping the film's latter anxiety-pace at a tense and effective pitch.
Both editions offer optional English subtitles but the Blu-ray
adds French and Spanish. My Momitsu
tells me this release is region FREE!

As far as supplements go - both editions
are stacked and the Blu-ray
has many (most) of the 2-disc Criterion extras as well
as adding even more. The
new hi-def edition includes the older audio commentary
by director Spike Lee, Dickerson, production designer
Wynn Thomas, and actor Joie Lee - as well as St. Clair
Bourne’s 60-minute documentary The Making of “Do the
Right Thing”, the 42-minute 1989 Cannes Film
Festival press conference with Spike Lee, Ossie Davis,
Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, and Joie Lee. Also repeated
from the 2-disc DVD set are Spike Lee’s hour-long
behind-the-scenes footage, from rehearsal to wrap in
6-parts, the original storyboard gallery for the riot
sequence and the 10-minute video interview with editor
Barry Brown in 4-parts. What you lose are intros that
mention 'Criterion' specifically and their liner notes
essay by Ebert. New to the Blu-ray
is a second commentary (entitled 20th Anniversary
Feature Commentary) with only Lee - albeit with some
gaps - and in HD are 14-minutes of 11 'newly discovered'
deleted and extended scenes and the almost 40-minutes of
Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later documentary
retrospective with cast and crew. Whewww!

Okay - so the Universal
Blu-ray
is vastly superior but not supporting the original
theatrical look and the lone hi-def disc is jammed to
the brim with over 49 Gig filled of feature and
supplements. Considering the price (less than $20) and
film value - this amounts to quandary on purchasing. You
may decide for yourself.